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NHL owners meet while rich and poor look to sell

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.—It’s hard to imagine what the first question aimed at Michael Hulsizer might be.

How about, “Uh, you sure you wanna do this?”

So many, after all, have looked at the books of the Phoenix Coyotes, noted the $20 million a month loss and decided the best way to build a fortune might not be to try and sell hockey in the desert.

Hulsizer, a Chicago money man, apparently figures he knows a better way to build this particular mousetrap, and so Monday he’ll meet with members of the NHL’s executive committee to lay out the specifics of his plans for turning the Coyotes operation into one that no longer gives a migraine to the other 29 franchises.

Actually, forget the migraine. The other clubs would just like to not have to own 1/29th of the Phoenix franchise any longer, a state of affairs that has been the status quo for more than a year now since the league purchased the Coyotes out of bankruptcy in order to keep them out of the clutches of Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie.

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Hulsizer apparently has eight to 10 other investors lined up willing to plow a few bucks into a team that is currently drawing the fewest fans of any NHL team, about 10,400 a game. That this is the local interest despite a playoff appearance and the fact that, as of Sunday, the Coyotes sat fifth in the Western Conference might scare off investors, and the NHL will surely want to know about the commitment of Hulsizer and Co. when the questioning begins on Monday.

The executive committee has 10 members but will likely only have nine on hand Monday; Dallas owner Tom Hicks is not expected to attend as he attempts to divest himself of the team.

One of the key responsibilities of the committee is to vet new ownership candidates and transfers, and it’s worth noting that once upon a time Balsillie passed muster when he was vying to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins. The NHL franchise market is volatile at the moment, with Forbes magazine recently reporting that at least seven NHL franchises — Buffalo, Atlanta, Carolina, Dallas, L.A., Nashville, and Phoenix — are all for sale.

This was all before, of course, Rogers Communications’ interest in a 66 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment became known. That the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, holders of that stake, are playing coy, suggesting that no “firm” offer has been made and that they’re “not anxious” to sell, but it seems clear the ownership of the Leafs, Raptors etc. is in play.

That, given that Forbes valued the Leafs as the NHL’s most valuable franchise at $505 million, certainly puts an interesting spotlight on the sale of the Coyotes, which the magazine valued dead last at just $134 million.

The NHL bought the Coyotes at $140 million, and the suggestion is that Hulsizer and his partners would be buying in at about $170 million, assuming the City of Glendale, which owns the Coyotes’ arena, is agreeable to lease alterations.

All of these things will be of interest to the executive board, plus hard facts on whether Hulsizer — whose personal wealth is relatively modest at an estimated $300 million — is capable of supporting the losses of the ’Yotes if the team continues to spurt red ink.

Just around the corner, meanwhile, are two key dates. Glendale city council meets Dec. 14 to finalize any deal it may have with Hulsizer — getting a rubber stamp of approval ahead of time from the NHL would no doubt aid in that process — while on Dec. 31 the league is free to begin talking to non-Phoenix interests about a potential sale and relocation of the team.

Clearly, the NHL wants the Hulsizer bid to be successful. But that was the case with Jerry Reinsdorf, at one point, and with Ice Edge Holdings, and yet both fell through.

So Hulsizer needs to deliver answers the executive committee wants to hear on Monday. Other teams won’t just be interested in a solution; with so many other teams potentially in play, they want a solution that lasts.

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